One big election takeaway for health care

Democrats went into Tuesday's elections trying to link concerns about health care and affordability, seeing it as a test case for the future, Daniel Payne reports.

The party notched huge victories across the off-year races, affirming the strategy for wider use in the midterms. Gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey, who tied health care and affordability issues together, won decisively, well beyond even some rosy projections.

That means that Democrats in midterm races will likely focus on the rising costs of health care while arguing that Republicans' cuts to health programs only exacerbate the problem.

Republicans suggested the losses could be because of weak candidates, a record-breaking government shutdown, or because the party wasn't able to quickly address rising costs that remain top of mind for voters. Some of the GOP's earlier messaging on health issues, especially gender-affirming care, seemed to lose steam in these elections, party advisers told Daniel.

The election also could have implications for how Democrats deal with the government shutdown, potentially emboldening them to hold out longer on key health care demands. On the other hand, with the election past, they may agree to a deal that falls short of all their demands.

Top Democrats have said a deal to reopen the government must address expiring enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans as well as the historic Medicaid cuts that Republicans passed earlier this year.

drug prices

Awaiting a weight loss drug announcement

Today we will learn about the Trump administration's deals to lower the prices of weight loss drugs and expand access to them, CMS Medicare Director Chris Klomp said at a Milken Institute event yesterday.

Daniel, Elaine Chen, and Chelsea Cirruzzo reported that the deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are expected to include Medicare coverage of Zepbound and Wegovy in exchange for the companies lowering prices.

Like previous deals with drugmakers, these could include multiple moving parts. By law, Medicare cannot cover drugs for weight loss, so the administration would need to find a way around that. The Biden administration proposed a rule to allow Medicare to cover weight loss drugs, but Trump nixed it.

One option: The White House's budget agency has been reviewing pilot programs aimed at testing policies to lower drug prices. Medicare is allowed to use those so-called demonstrations to waive the law, and if the demonstrations are successful, they could be ramped up into permanent national programs. Here's an article suggesting a way to do that.

Read more about the coming announcement.

hospitals

Kids' hospitals shift lobbying strategy

Daniel also wrote about how the Children's Hospital Association is shifting its messaging to promoting the health of children broadly and highlighting the importance of pediatric health to the country as a whole. To accomplish those goals, the group will emphasize the importance of using evidence in policymaking — and will build out its data capabilities.

Although the lobbying group says the change in approach predates the Trump administration, the new strategy shares themes with the Make America Healthy Again agenda.

Read more for what won't change in their messaging, and where they're pushing back on Trump.

ai

Regulating AI

FDA advisers are scheduled to meet today to discuss the regulation of therapy chatbots and other mental health devices that use generative AI.

The meeting is part of the agency's effort to clarify how regulation applies to medical devices based on new forms of AI, including those that appear to talk to patients, Mario Aguilar reports. Such therapy chatbots exemplify many of the hairiest challenges posed by large language models, and they are of particular interest to regulators. But the topic has been taboo during the Trump administration, so it's one to watch.

Read more about the opportunity to improve access to treatment and the safety risks that the advisers will likely discuss.

More around STAT

Check out more exclusive coverage with a STAT+ subscription

Read premium in-depth biotech, pharma, policy, and life science coverage and analysis with all of our STAT+ articles.

What we're reading

Investors back new biotech with heart disease treatment from China, STAT
The French secret to healthier eating, The New York Times
Is it ever OK for doctors to 'fake' CPR?, STAT
Americans on food stamps have no good options, The Atlantic
FTC raises concern about Novo Nordisk attempt to acquire obesity startup Metsera, STAT